FROM THE PARISH MAGAZINE
OF ST MARGARET’S, ILKLEY

St Swithun’s day saw an unusual and very beautiful event at the Parish Church of All Saints, Broughton, near Skipton. The rector, Fr Nicholas Turner SSC, had arranged a Sung Latin Mass, with the Staincliffe Singers, using a setting based on Aeterna Christi Munera by Palestrina.
The Mass was to be a Votive of the Precious Blood and Fr John Hilton SSC, vicar of St Wilfrid’s, Harehills, had been invited to preach.
Fr Nicholas occasionally celebrates Mass in Latin for, as he says, ‘It makes the liturgy more obviously directed to God and it allows a more universal and ecumenical involvement.’ One could also add that our medieval parish churches were built for the celebration of the Latin Mass and that just as we treasure our church buildings we should also honour the Latin Mass as part of our history and heritage.
I arrived at the church early where I met Fr John and Stephen Savage of St Hilda’s, Leeds, at the gate to the churchyard. We chatted here for a while before the rain came pouring down and Stephen and I unfurled our umbrellas and, one either side, escorted Fr John up the path to the church. At this point Fr Nicholas appeared at the porch and watched our approach with a certain bemusement. He clearly thought that he was witnessing some arcane ritual in which visiting preachers, on St Swithun’s Day, processed to the church accompanied by acolytes bearing umbrellas.
Inside, the church was aglow and it quickly filled up, with few people it would seem being deterred by the appalling weather. I spotted various friends from St Chad’s, Bradford, and the Forward in Faith churches in Leeds, together with one or two members of the Classical Association. The Latin lovers were turning out in force.
Fr Nicholas said a few words of welcome (in English) before starting the Mass. His opening ‘Dominus vobiscum’ received a loud and enthusiastic response of ‘Et cum spiritu tuo’ probably as a heartfelt relief from the dreary ‘And also with you’ to which many of us are now accustomed. We were also given Latin hymns to sing which were embarked upon with fluent gusto. At first one could detect the odd classicist having trouble with his C’s, G’s and V’s but within a verse or two they had adapted to Church Latin.
At the appointed time Fr John climbed into the pulpit and slowly crossed himself with the words ‘In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti’. At this there was a slight shuffle in some of the pews as many thought they were in for a Latin sermon and that their recent revision of their ablative absolutes, gerunds and gerundives might be found wanting. However, Fr John looked kindly upon us and delivered his sermon in English. And what a sermon it was too! This was no cosy homily but serious teaching of considerable scholarship.
After a period of silence the Mass continued and Fr Nicholas and Fr John concelebrated, assisted by Deacon Ann Turner. The whole congregation was amazingly still. The clear and precise words of the Latin Mass hung in the air and one could almost feel the medieval church listening, and remembering, and silently praying with us.
At communion Fr Nicholas held the wafer before my eyes simply saying ‘Corpus Christi’ before pressing it firmly on my tongue. In receiving the Body of Our Lord with these words I felt a special link with my ancestors of 500 years ago and more.
After the final blessing and the ‘Ite missa est’ we gave hearty thanks and adjourned to the church hall for generous refreshments, and a glass of wine, in the most convivial company.
Some might think this was a gathering of High Church eccentrics but they would be wrong. This event provided a glimpse of a part of the Church of England at its very best – deeply Catholic, prayerful, knowledgeable, charitable and joyful – for which one can only say DEO GRATIAS!

Brian Wilson